This study examined the relationships among adult attachment, cognitive vulnerabilities for depression and anxiety, affect regulation strategies and psychological distress symptoms. To examine these questions, a total of 259 participants (150 females, 109 males) completed measures assessing the above mentioned variables. The structural equation modeling results indicated that attachment anxiety was related to emotional reactivity and emotional cutoff, as well as cognitive vulnerabilities for anxiety and depression. Attachment avoidance was associated with emotional cutoff and cognitive vulnerabilities for anxiety and depression. In turn, cognitive vulnerabilities for depression were related to both depression and anxiety symptoms, whereas cognitive vulnerabilities for anxiety were not related to either depression or anxiety. However, neither cognitive vulnerabilities nor affect regulation strategies mediated the relationship between adult attachment and psychological distress symptoms. Conceptual and measurement issues are addressed and clinical and treatment implications of these findings are discussed.

The primary objective of the current study involved examining the influence of psychopathy on aggression and antisocial behavior. Reports of parental attachment, peer relationships, and exposure to community violence were examined as potential moderators of these relationships. Parental attachment styles and peer delinquency were also assessed with respect to the outcomes. A total of 172 students at a Midwestern college participated. Parental attachment, peer attachment, and exposure to community violence were not significant moderators between psychopathy and the outcome variables. Peer delinquency and exposure to community violence were both predictors of aggression; however, only peer delinquency was a predictor of antisocial behavior. Moreover, there was a significant group difference between those with secure attachment and the other attachment styles with respect to scores for aggression. These findings have implications for prevention and intervention strategies for the community. However, potential problems with data collection and experimental design are discussed. Additional research needs to be performed to determine directional and causal mechanisms of the relationships found in this study.

Smartphones are the most personalized and in the meantime the most anthropomorphized computing and communication technology in our society. Existing studies, especially Computers as Social Actors studies, on anthropomorphism and social interactions focus on how to implement and elicit positive anthropomorphic effects but fail to address the motivations and dispositional factors. Through an online survey that incorporates well-tested social psychological scales, this study provides empirical evidences that smartphone users’ social dispositions including chronic loneliness, attachment style, and cultural orientations are associated with their acceptance and awareness of anthropomorphism. Findings in this study suggest that existing studies are limited to method of choice and overlooked how people adapt to communication technologies differently in real life settings. Anthropomorphic design in communication technology and anthropomorphized message in advertising strategies need further examination when targeting a diversified or specified demographic.

Previous research has investigated the effects of daycare on infants, though little attention has been given to the emotional impact of this work on their caregivers. Attachment theory has influenced the approach to infant daycare, leading many programs to adopt a primary caregiving system in order to respond effectively to the needs of the infant. Babies become attached to caregivers and in turn caregivers become attached to the babies. This study explored the implications of such attachments. Naturalistic inquiry made the web of relationships surrounding infant/toddler caregivers apparent. In conversational interviews, caregivers spoke deeply of the complexities and demands of their work with babies and their families. Their voices were eloquent, thoughtful and reflective. The data consist of lengthy initial interviews, follow-up conversations, and observations. The researcher's own education and experience informed the data gathering and interpretation. Seven caregivers in four different centres were interviewed. Each had her Under Age Three Certificate and worked in a licensed centre. Each of these centres used some degree of primary caregiving. The interviews were informal, based on a list of questions used to encourage conversation and narrative. Observations offered an opportunity to understand the context of each caregiver and prompt further conversation. Analysis was a process of analyzing the interviews for themes and ideas in light of the observations. The picture that emerged illustrates the complexity inherent in the work of caring for babies. Caregivers spoke of their relationships as sources of satisfaction and frustration. In a dynamic, ongoing process of engaging with babies, families, co-workers, and selves, caregivers must negotiate these multiple relationships using skills of empathy and thoughtfulness. The Early Childhood Education and Care literature discusses toddlers' struggle with separation anxieties. Not well articulated in the literature, but evident in the data, is the grief of the caregivers. Each woman spoke of her own sadness at the loss of her relationship with a baby or toddler when that child left the centre. Relationship with all its intensity and tensions was central to the professional experience of these women. Each of the four most experienced caregivers accented a different aspect of caregiving: a) the sensual aspects of caring for babies, b) the intellectual possibilities of caregiving, c) caring as a spiritual practice, and d) the need for attentive care for one's self. The particular centre and context of each caregiver influenced the care she provided; without a supportive environment it is difficult to provide respectful and responsive care. The participants discussed the need for adequate time to establish and maintain relationships; time was also necessary to meet and discuss concerns. Caregivers needed time for reflection to keep multiple perspectives in mind. Time is an important and often scarce resource for caregivers. Caregiving is a web of relationships. This research was reflective of and ethically responsive to the caregiving relationship. Paying attention to the multiple pulls experienced as an insider, I used trust, respect, responsiveness, and responsibility to guide the research process. Two women, whom I called peer reviewers and who had both worked in the field, but were now a step removed, discussed with me general topics raised by the interviews and listened for the "ring of truth". Listening to the seldom heard voices of the caregivers and their emphasis on the process of building and maintaining relationships suggests possible directions for supervision of centres, guidelines for Early Childhood Education and Care education, and development of licensing policies. The caregivers' focus on relationship challenges the centrality of child development in the organization of practice. Supporting, honouring, and building on caregivers' connections with the babies in their care, the families, the staff, and with themselves will enhance the practice of infant and toddler care. / Graduate

L’adolescence est une période de développement au cours de laquelle les individus expérimentent les premières activités sexuelles, investissent de nouveaux objets tout en s’éloignant de leurs parents. Ce profond remaniement peut conduire les adolescents à une prise de risque accrue, y compris dans la sexualité, et à une chute de l’estime de soi. Ce travail propose d’étudier les relations entre le style d’attachement (secure, insecure ambivalent et insecure évitant) à la mère et au père à l’adolescence et le type de sexualité engagée (sentimentalisée, corporalisée, évitée ou encore à risque). L’estime est considérée dans cette étude comme une variable intermédiaire dans les interactions entre l’attachement perçu aux parents et la sexualité des adolescents. Pour tenir compte des évolutions pubertaires et cognitives durant l’adolescence, la prime adolescence et la late adolescence sont étudiées séparément. Les sept études à la prime adolescence et à la late adolescence composant ce travail rendent compte que les différents styles d'attachement des adolescents à leur parent influence les modalités d'entrée dans la sexualité des adolescents avec la réactivation des angoisses d'abandon et d'intrusion avec une sexualité plus précoce, plus chaotique et désaffectivée pour les adolescents ayant un attachement insecure ambivalent ou évitant. La figure parentale semble jouer un role spécifique dans la sexualité des adolescentes / Adolescence is a period of development during which people experiment with their first sexual activities, explore new paths and distance themselves from their parents. This life changes may lead adolescents to increased risk-taking, including in sexuality, and to a loss of self-esteem. This work proposes to study the relations and the nature of the bond (secure, insecure ambivalent and insecure avoidant) with the mother and the father between the adolescence and the kind of sexuality held (sentimentalized, corporalized, avoided or risky). Self esteem is considered in this study as an intermediate variable in the interactions between the attachment perceived by parents and the sexuality of adolescents. To consider the pubertal and cognitive evolution during adolescence, the prime adolescence and the late adolescence are studied separately.. The sexual behavior of secure adolescents is reflected in their high self-esteem, with ease in intimate relations (both affective and physical) and a more sentimentalized and less risky sexuality. The ambivalent adolescents are more precocioulsy involved in sexual interactions and exhibit a more risk-taking sexuality, in the fear of rejection or abandonment. For the avoidant adolescents, they are less interested by the emotional implication of sexuality, and less oriented toward the sexual experiences with girls (attachment to the father) during the prime adolescence, without necessarily being sexually inactive in their late adolescence. In these relations, self-esteem is a real mediator for the attachments secure and insecure avoidant.

TESIS PARA OPTAR AL GRADO DE MAGÍSTER EN MARKETING / El amor a la marca lugar es un constructo que se compone de integración, identidad, afecto, pasión y dependencia que refleja la conexión emocional con un destino basado principalmente en la relación de largo plazo con el lugar y las personas con las que se pueda encontrar en ese lugar. Si bien el place attachment ha explicado de la mejor manera la conexión o lazo con un destino, se cree que al complementarlo con el amor a las marcas basado en relaciones interpersonales se puede crear un constructo más completo que entienda la emocionalidad que involucra amar de manera sostenida en el tiempo a un lugar. Los resultados obtenidos a través de encuestas online a 320 estudiantes jovenes arrojan que las dimensiones que componen el amor a la marca lugar forman parte de manera significativa, por lo que se espera sentar una base teórica sólida que favorezca futuras investigaciones en el ámbito emocional del turismo a través de las implicancias y conclusiones de esta investigación.

This thesis explores the use of sound recordings in the revitalisation of two minority languages – the Ainu (Japan) and the West Frisian (the Netherlands). Over the last few decades, a growing concern about linguistic diversity in the world has led to an increasing awareness of minority languages, which are endangered by loss. The concept of language revitalisation calls for work which will affect the vitality of these languages. The nature of these revitalisation efforts is inscribed into place-related processes and the interpretations of the relationships between language speakers and the place they live in. Sound recordings can afford language revitalisation with the restoration of sounds of languages. This thesis argues that the heart of language revitalisation lies in the re-sounding of place attachment and sense of place. The selection of the two language cases studies, which allow for the multi-faceted use of sound recordings to be revealed and understood, constitutes an important part in the search for an understanding of these interconnections. Based on these two language case studies, which contrast in degrees of language endangerment, this research analyses how and why sound recordings engage in the processes of language revitalisation. Qualitative methods of research, encompassing forty one semi-structured and episodic interviews conducted in Japan and the Netherlands along with observations and secondary data analysis, were used in this study. The comparative approach revealed similarities and differences in the revitalisation of the Ainu and West Frisian languages and the practices of using sound recordings. Importantly, this thesis demonstrates that the significance of sound recordings arise from their capability of creating aural experience of the language, which empowers both processes of language revitalisation with the restoration of place attachment and sense of place. This finding represents a key contribution to the research of linguistic and geographical knowledge about the revitalisation of endangered languages, the role of technology in language revitalisation and to the debate on saving linguistic and cultural diversity in the world.

Abstract This study seeks to explore mental representations of caregiving, an area of attachment that has been the subject of relatively little research. The Caregiving Styles Questionnaire (CSQ) was developed as a cost effective and efficient alternative to lengthier caregiving interviews, and this study examines its internal and external validity. An initial item critique was used to examine underlying constructs of the measure. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three factor structure, which was replicated in a subsequent EFA using a data set that differed primarily in the age of the target child. The three factors included (1) Relationship uncertainty, (2) Needy uncertainty, and (3) Rejecting representations of caregiving. Each of these scales had high reliability, and the results reflected existing caregiving representations that have been theorized in previous studies. These findings, particularly the generalizability of the measure across age groups, indicate that it would be worthwhile to continue refining the CSQ items in order to provide a valid measure of an understudied behavioral system.

abstract: Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) individuals are exposed to specific stressors due to their sexual minority status. One such stressor may result from the negative family reactions to one’s romantic partner. Encountering this stress may be especially harmful for LGB individuals’ emotional well-being, as it could be considered a “double rejection”: that of their partner and possibly their own sexual orientation. The stress surrounding family members’ negative attitudes about their partner may affect how one feels about their partner. Furthermore, there may be individual differences that affect how an individual may perceive and respond to this stress. Specifically, one’s attachment style could either exacerbate (anxious) or weaken (avoidant) the experiences of stress, which may influence the emotions they feel about their partner. Using 14-day daily diary data from 81 same-sex couples, the purpose of this study was to examine whether there was an association between daily perceptions of stress via negative family reactions to partner and negative partner-related emotions, and whether attachment insecurity (anxiety and avoidance) moderated this association. Individuals’ perceptions of stress via negative family reactions was found to be positively associated with their reports of negative emotions about one’s partner. Anxious and avoidant attachment did not moderate the association between perceptions of stress and negative emotions due to one’s partner. The finding suggests this specific stressor on negative emotions due to partner may be an intrapersonal process, in which case couple therapists can increase clients’ awareness of this stress and how it impacts their feelings towards their romantic partner. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling Psychology 2017

abstract: Research on attachment in adults began by assuming parallels from attachment as a behavioral system for using relationships to balance the tradeoff between safety and exploration in infants, to the same tradeoff function in adults. Perhaps more pressing, for adults, are the novel social tradeoffs adults face when deciding how to invest resources between themselves and their close relationship partners. The current study investigated the role of the attachment system in navigating two such tradeoffs, in a sample of ASU undergraduates. In one tradeoff condition, participants had the option of working on puzzles to earn either themselves or their closest friend a monetary reward. In the second tradeoff condition, participants worked to earn monetary rewards for a close or new friend. Analyses showed no evidence of attachment avoidance predicting prioritizing redistributing money to a close friend in either condition. While there was no effect of anxiety on prioritizing one’s close friend over one’s self, there was a marginal effect in both prioritizing one’s close friend over a new friend when redistributing money and starting on the close friend’s word search first. Although attachment style largely did not predict earning or redistributing monetary rewards in these two relationship tradeoffs, implications for how these results fit within the broader theoretical perspective are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2018